Letters
by horcrux happy
Summary: That smile looked fake. HG Oneshotdrabble. Read and review, please!


7th year at last.

It didn't feel like his 7th year. Sighing, Harry stared at the picture frame he had been holding. The worn copper frame showed a picture of his parents in the prime of their youth; they looked so happy and so in love. Lily, with her bright red hair and piercing green eyes, and James, with his perpetually ruffled black hair and glasses. He looked away from the picture, out to the field below the dormitory window. It was dark, with the exception of the flickering light coming from Hagrid's hut.

He, the Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World, had only given up his second ever relationship. The one girl that understood him best and would always be there for him, and all because he was the ideal hero, he told her they couldn't be together anymore. He didn't want her to get hurt, but in reality Harry knew that wasn't the case. She would be targeted anyway for being part of the family that Harry came to accept as his own, the Weasleys.

It was a dangerous time for everyone. Harry was still looking for Horcruxes, having destroyed Hufflepuff's Cup and Slytherin's Locket already. His two best mates, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, were always at his side, whether in the library researching into the early hours of morning or following him on his journeys outside of school grounds to continue his quest. The Boy-Who-Lived smiled, knowing that those two would always be there for him, as he would willingly do for them at any given moment, as well.

Placing the frame on his nightstand carefully, Harry looked around the dormitory. This was his last year at the school and yet it felt like just yesterday he was a first year, excited to explore the school and causing trouble at every turn. _It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live_. The words of Albus Dumbledore echoed in his mind. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he closed the door and walked down the staircase to the common room. His thoughts barely perceptible and his vision unfocused, he suddenly ran into someone. A certain _ginger_ someone.

"Oh." He said, his mind going numbingly blank. He never could speak around Ginny anymore; it was awkward. His heart said that he should still be with her, but his mind wholly disagreed. It would be too dangerous, too painful to risk the lives of the ones he loved so dearly. He stared down at her, his mouth hanging a bit open.

"Hi, Harry." Ginny replied, looking down at her feet and then looking up at him again. She seemed to know exactly how he felt, and probably felt it, too. "Are you alright? You look kind of… Distracted." She stared right into his eyes. _Why does it seem like she's staring straight into my soul and past this façade of mine?_

"Um… Yeah, I suppose I am… Dunno, I'm just kind of tired. Y'know, research…" He trailed off, glancing at a spot just over Ginny's head. He couldn't look at her for so long; it just reminded him to much of last year, his 6th, her 5th, when they were _together_. He missed holding her in his arms.

"Oh. Alright. Well, I have to finish a Potions essay. Slughorn wants 4 feet and I haven't even started…" She yawned, smiling at him. _That smile looked fake_. He watched her leave the common room, presumably heading to the library.

He sank onto one of the large plush couches in front of the blazing fireplace, hugging his knees and staring at the fire. Resolving to tell Ginny how he felt, he got up from the couch and trudged up the stairs back to the dormitory.

_Dear Ginny,_

Wait. Not like that.

'_Lo Ginny,_

No, not like that either. Well, I'll settle for this.

_Ginny,_

_I hope your 6th year's been going well. I know you've started NEWT classes and all, but I hope you still are having fun outside of classes. Since Quidditch started, I think it's helped all of us focus._

_I… I apologize for my behavior last year. Down by the lake. I didn't mean to make it sound as if you couldn't handle anything. You can. You're a strong person. I just don't want to see you get hurt. I couldn't bear for you to get captured by Voldemort. You, or Ron, or Hermione, or anyone._

_I'd just like you to know I've never stopped loving you. It's weird writing this. But we both know it's the truth. I don't know how you feel about all of this, but I know ever since Dumbledore's funeral, I've never forgiven myself for it. It was the biggest mistake of my life, giving up someone like you._

_I hope you forgive me, and if you'd like, we can both pretend this letter never happened and go on just being friends._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry_

Sealing the parchment with wax and a seal he received from Hagrid, he left the dormitory and found Ginny there, sleeping on her books. Her head was rested on her arms and she was smiling peacefully, as if she didn't have a care in the world. Harry thought she'd never looked this beautiful. Placing the letter near her head, he moved to turn. Suddenly, Ginny stirred, and her hand moved to hold the letter, but she didn't wake up. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Walking back to his dormitory, he had one wish. _Let everything turn out alright_.


End file.
